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She took the platter back, laughing again. Her face reddened as she looked at me. “Janet said it would probably be too much. That two teenage girls couldn’t possibly eat it all. But like I said, I just didn’t really know what you liked
so…”
All this was for… us?
Staff continued to put food on the counter. People were still making food. I was asked what I’d like to drink too before another platter was forced in my face.
“We have watercress and tuna salad as options today, Miss Sloane,” the staff member said to me, smiling. She directed the little sandwiches toward me. “But if you want something different, we can make another option for you. Miss Reed told us to be prepared to mix it up if you wanted something different.”
Holy shit.
“Uh, these are fine.” I took a tuna, feeling obligated. Bow had filled this whole kitchen up with food for our study session.
And now, I really felt like shit.
I took a bite and didn’t fail to notice how excited it made her to see me try it. I waved the sandwich. “Really good.”
“Great.” Her fists balled. Like she almost wanted to punch the air in victory. The way she acted it was like she never had people over.
But then again, knowing who her brother was…
Sheer intimidation alone may keep people away, and since Bow didn’t play up all that Legacy shit, something told me folks may not want to take the risk to get closer to her. She certainly came with a lot of baggage.
It was either bow or break when it came to those boys and, apparently, I was stupid enough to get caught up within their crosshairs.
I finished the sandwich quick, then brushed my hands off on my shorts. Bow’s staff was ready with napkins too, but I turned them down. Really, the service around here was boss as fuck.
Bow said we could take whatever we wanted up to her room with us to study, and after we both picked a couple things, we took the journey through her large house. She gave me a little tour on the way, pointing out the guest rooms and her parents’ room. They had their own wing, I guess, and good for them. It was their house.
“Grandma’s room,” Bow said, breezing past that. “She’s not well, so we need to be quiet.”
I nodded, not pushing her on that. We passed Thatcher’s room too, but I wasn’t curious enough to try to make up an excuse to poke around in there. I did need dirt, but with how accommodating Bow was being, I was already feeling like shit about my plan for today.
Instead, I let her take me to her room, which was decorated for a princess high in her castle. Her four-poster bed was donned in golden silks, the oak floors polished and pristine. She appeared to be a heavy reader and had one of those bookshelves where a ladder was needed just to get to the top of it. It wouldn’t surprise me if she’d used it just that morning since there was a nice little stack of reads by it. Besides that, nothing was out of place, so she probably had just used it this morning.
“On a scale of one to ten. How ridiculous did I just embarrass myself downstairs?” She pressed her hands to her face. “Janet really told me we shouldn’t have made that much food.” Her leg shook, her hands balled. She really was worried. “I’m sorry. Mom and Dad always say I do too much. I can’t help it. My ADHD makes me all over the place.”
She laughed that off, like it didn’t bother her so much but was a reality. I supposed that explained a couple things too. She really did go a mile a minute. I smiled at her. “It was cool.”
“Really?” Her mouth parted. “I know it’s a lot. I’m know I’m a lot.” She chuckled. “I really didn’t mean to be all up on you when we first met. I tend to do that. I know it can be annoying.”
She chewed her lip after that last statement, and the nervous laughter that followed was more dry. I started to say something, but her door breezed open and a man the size of a building barreled inside. He wore a suit sans tie, his hair dark, and he looked so much like Thatcher my eyes twitched wide.
“Door stays open when boys are over,” the man grunted, letting go of the doorknob. He took in the room. “Where’s the boy?”
Bow and I glanced around, then she rolled her eyes.
“Dad, when have you ever known me to bring a boy over?” she asked. She placed a hand toward me. “It’s just me and Sloane.”
The man directed his gaze toward me. It was uncanny how much he looked like Thatcher. I supposed that made sense considering this was their dad, but Bow was so petite and little I wondered if she got anything from him. This guy was a semi. He frowned. “Sloane?” He eyed me. “Janet said some boy named Noa Sloane was here.”
Bow chuckled. “Yeah, Dad. That’s Noa Sloane. She’s a friend from school. We’re studying today.”
He grunted in my direction. Though, I noticed there was a sizable sigh in his big body upon noticing I wasn’t a boy. I raised a hand. “Happens all the time, Mr. Reed.”
I mean, my parents gave me a traditional boy name, constant confusion a given whenever anyone met me.
He nodded. “I see. Well, nice to meet you, Noa.”
